Cape Coral woman speaks out about hoarding situation

A Cape Coral woman who had 22 animals living in her home is now speaking out about her hoarding situation.

The woman, who asks we not reveal her name, says she knew she needed help but did not know where to turn.

Now that her animals are up for adoption, she hopes they find loving families.

"All of our pets have good temperaments, they're very loving, very affectionate, they just want to be held and cuddled," she said.

The 22 animals were taken from her home after Lee County Domestic Animal Services received an anonymous call reporting a profound odor of urine and feces coming from the residence.

Now, she is accepting help and did voluntarily give up the animals. She says she's not a hoarder, but just couldn't afford to spay her cat.

"It's not like we were bringing in animal after animal after animal, it was one cat got out and had multiple litters, and we were just doing our best to take care of them," she explained.

It's a story animal services is familiar with.

"We've got about 50 cases that we currently monitor for hoarding and theres probably at least another 100 or more out there that haven't even been reported," said Ria Brown of Lee County Domestic Animal Services.

So why so many this week? Brown points to media coverage.

"I think it absolutely does raise awareness and we need people to report it, otherwise we're not going to know that those cases are out there," Brown said.

But some situations reveal animal abuse. Puppies and kittens so young, they still need their mothers. In other cases, animals are well cared for, but the people need help.

Thanks to some help, this woman is now in cleanup mode.

"We have a friend who's going to give us a new couch and loveseat and people who are going to help me clean," she said.

Now she's encouraging others to make a change.

"You reach a point where you start to get overwhelmed and you really dont know whats the next step to do or how to fix the problem once it becomes such a problem to you," she said.

This woman isn't facing any charges, but its likely the other two cases this week will.

There is no limit to the number of animals allowed in a home in Lee County, but they have to be in good health.

When they aren't and when their owners resist help, law enforcement has to step in.

This is one of three animal hoarding cases in Lee County in the past five days.